Atjtomobile-dook



P. H. SODERLUND.

AUTOMOBILE DOOR CLOSER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14.1919.

Patented Dec. 9, 1919.

INVEN TOR .P H. SODEPLUND.

HIS ATTORNEYS.

witness destrains and it To all 'whomz' may concern."

@mann sTATEs PATENT onirica.

PER HENNING SODERLUND, OFALAMED'A, CALIFORNIA.

. AU'roMoBILn-noon cLosEn. e

Be it knownl thaty I, PERI-IENN-ING SODERL LUND, a citizen of the UnitedStates,andfa resident of Alameda,

and useful Automobile-Door which the following is a specification. 1

This inventionrelates to improvements in automobile doors, and moreparticularly to closing means therefor.V

Automobile doors are often carelessly left open by persons getting intoand out of automobiles and as the doors when open extend a considerabledistance outwardly f from the sides of the automobiles, they arefrequently broken ofi'` or damaged, incident to driving into and out ofgarages or through narrow driveways and sometimes in passing or beingpassed by other` vehicles. Besides the likelihood of being broken ordamaged, the doors when open are a menace to peobject of my invention toovercome all liab'ility of breaking or damaging doorsV and i of injuringpedestrians by providing aj door closer which will automatically closethe doors in a reliable manner and without slamming or banging. d l d"An object of the invention is to provide a door closer of the characterdescribed which Y following description, where I shall outline in full,that form of theinvention which Il have selected for illustration in thedrawings accompanying and forming part of the' In said drawings Ipresent specification. have shown one form invention, but it is to donot limit myself `to such form, since the invention, as expressed in theclaims may of the device ofjmy be embodied in a plurality of otherforms.

'Referring to the drawings:

Figure lis a top plan view of an automobile having the door closer of myinvention embodied therein, a portion ofthe door and body being'brokenaway to show the closer. e A

-Fig. 2 is a side elevation of my invention showing Vparts broken away.

A i Specircation of Letters Patent. yAppinaa'umined .'ru1y`14, 1919.

county of Alameda, and State of California, have invented a new Closer,fof

is therefore the primary be understood that I d Y Patented Dea-9,1919.SerialV No. 310,860.`

closer of my invention.

' Fig. 4 -is a fragmentary horizontal seo-V tional view takenthrough thehinge lever showingthe construction thereof and the manner of attachmentto the plunger.

My invention embodies an angular hinge member secured to the door andpivoted within a specially constructed hinge plate that'is secured tothe door jamb. A plunger and a retractile spring are concealed withinthe side wall of the automobile `body and I may house these elements ina` cylinder, the latter to be secured to the hinge plate on the jamb. Bymeans of a plate and links of novel construction I connect the plungerwith the angular hinge member in such a way as to avoid a great deal offriction and secure substantially the same amount of leverage on theplunger in opening the door. I thus insure Van automatic closing actionwhich is free from all liability of the jamming or stickingand failureof the door to close, and at the same time provide for an easy openingof the door.

Countersunk in the door 2 secured thereto by fastening elements 3 and`which carries an angular and preferably substantially L shaped hingemember or lever 4.

I n the outer face of the door jamb 5 which is secured in the sill ofthe side wall 6 of the auto body, a hinge plate 7 is secured. This plateis substantially U shaped and the body thereof extends through the jambinto the space 8 between the inner and outer faces of the wall 6. Theends of the plate are `bent right angularly to the body to provide earsor flanges 9, the latter being-co': 1ntersunk in the jamb and securedthereto by fastenings 10.

The hinge lever 4: extends into the U shaped plate7 and at its free endis pivoted on a vertical hinge pin 11, which pin is mounted in the plate7. The plate 2, lever 4, plate 7, and pin 11, constitute the hingeelements of the invention.

"Pivotally secured to the rear end of the plate 7 by fastenings 12, is aspring case or cylinder 13 which is disposed within the space Sand isopen at its front end and closed at its rear end. A plurality of perl isa hinge plate there is provided an air Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectionalview of the aol Reciprocally mounted in the cylinder'13 is a plunger 16,provided on its inner fend with a piston 17, the latter snugly engagingin the cylinder. A retractile spring 18 is mounted upon the plunger andat one end abuts the piston 17 whereas its other' end abuts the rear endof the plate V7. The plunger is adapted to extend through -anelongatedopening 19 formed through the plate 7 and is connected `with the lever 4by a lever extension plate 2O and a pair of links 21. The plate 2Oismounted for pivotal movement in a slot 22 formed in the lever 4, apivot pin 23 being inserted through the lever and plate and Aat a pointintermediate of the ends of the lever. A stop shoulder 24 is defined atone end of the slot 22 and vthe plate 20 is provided with an enlargementorshoulder 25 which latter is normally spaced from the shoulder 24.Illhe links 21 are pivoted as at 26 to 'the plate 2O and as 27 to theend of the plunger 16.

When the door is opened a pull is communicated to the plunger 16 throughthe lever 4, plate 20 and links 21 and the plunger yields against theaction of the spring 18. The piston 17 is permitted to move freely inthe Acylinder 13, as the air in the cylinder will readily escape throughthe perforations 14., rlhe plate 20 moves on its pivot with the openingof the door a short distance, that is, follows the arcuate movement ofthe lever 4 and when the door has thus been opened a predetermineddistance, the shoulder 25 on the plate abuts the stop shoulder 24 on thelever and the plate becomes rigid with the lever and moves as anintegral part thereof. The links 21 then move on their pivots and causea pull in a substantially straight line, which is in line with theplunger, to be communicated to the plunger. By thus obtaining a doublelink action through the initial relative move- Ament of the plate 20 andthe ordinary link action of the links 21 the leverage on the plunger isconstant, the plunger moves freely and with little friction, and asmooth non-jamming operation of the hinge is provided. Y Y

When the door is released after being opened the spring will retract andthrough the plunger, links, plate and lever, will close the door. .Theair trapped in the closed end of the cylinder 13, and against which thepiston 17 cushions, will escape slowly through the vent 15, check theclosing ac tion of the spring and thus prevent slamming or banging ofthe door. By having the cylinder pivoted to the plate 7, allowance ismade for the slight lateral movement given the cylinder during thecontracting of the spring, and the cylinder' is cut away and rounded asat 28 at the end thereof which is secured to the plate 7 toA facilitatesuch lateral movement. When the door is in the closed position, ltheplatey20 is out of contact with the Ashoulder 25, and' acts as a link,causing the pull of the spring to be exerte'ddirectly upon the pin 23,and causing the line of pull of the spring to pass through the pin23thus holding the door tightly closed. As the door is opened, the platecontacts with theshoulder causing the plate to become rigid withrespectto the lever and to move therewith, transferring the line of pull ofthespringt() the-'pin 26, which moves Yin an arc, which does not depart toany great extent from the normal line of pull of the spring. .By virtueof this construction, a concealed hinge havingV its pivotpin 11 spacedfrom the edge of the door and substantially in line with the outer faceof the door may be employed.

I claim: y

1. The combination with an automobile body anda door therefor, of ahinge lever of less width than the door fixed to the edge of the doorand hinged within the body, between the sides thereof, a plunger, aplate pivoted on the lever and pivotally connected with the plunger,means to prevent movementof the plate relative to the lever after thedoor has beenlopened a predetermined distance, and a spring against theaction of which the plunger operates when the door is opened. y

2. The combination with an automobile body wall and a door therefor, ofa substantially VL-shaped hinge Vlever fixed at oneVV extremity to thedoor and hingedly connected at the other'extremity tothe wall, a plungermounted in the wall, a plate pivoted to the lever at a pointintermediate ofthe ends of the lever, a link pivotally connected withthe plate and plunger, a stop shoulder on the lever to limit themovement of the plate relative to the lever Vafter the door has opened.a predetermineddistance, and a spring against the action of which theplunger moves .when the door is opened.

3. The lcombination with the wall of an automobile body and a doortherefor, of an angular hinge lever of less width than the door fixedwithin the edgev of the door' at' one end extending into and beinghingedly connectedV with the wall between the sides thereof at its otherend, a spring actuated memberfor closing-.the door carried in the wall,a plate Vpivoted to the lever' intermediate the ends of the lever andvpivotally connected with the spring actuated member, and a stopshoulder on the `lever with which the plate engages when the door isopened a predetermined distance.

4. The combination with a wall of an automobile body and apdoortherefor, of an f angular hinge lever secured to the edge of the door,a'hinge plate secured to and concealed within the wall, a hinge pinconnecting the lever and plate, a plate pivoted to the last-named plate,

the lever and extending outwardly' therefrom in line with that portionof the lever which extends outwardly from the door edge, a plungerpivotally connected with and a spring against the action of which theplunger moves when the door is opened.

5. The combination with a wall of an line with that portion of the leverwhich extends outwardly from thedoor, a plunger pivotally connected with-the lastnamed plate, a spring against the action of which the plungermoveswhen the door is opened,

a cylinder connected to the hinge plate and housing the. plunger andspring,.and a pis- Y the sides thereof, a pivot for the inner end of thelever within the wall, a plunger within the wall, a connection betweenthe plunger and lever arranged to permit movement of the door relativethereto for a predetermined distance in opening the door and to movewith the door `after such predetermined movement and a spring againstthe action of which the door is opened, connected with the plunger.

' ln testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand at San Francisco,California, this 3rd day of July, 1919.

PER HENNING SODERLUND.

In presence of- I. G. PROST.

